Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber
by Rabid Miss Padfoot
Summary: ...But Harry wouldn’t ever know, not ever. He would never know of Ron and Hermione’s secret affection for each other. Never. For Harry Potter was dead. MAN this is an old one. What was I thinking?
1. Chapter 1

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – I own nothing, nor do I claim to be J.K. Rowling. If I was, would I really be posting my stuff on FanFiction.Net? I didn't think so. All I own is my Dream Street CD, my insane little mind, my love for R/H fics, and Jesse McCartney's leash (although I wouldn't say no to Draco!)  
  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***  
  
It was the last day of their seventh year at Hogwarts – the place where they had spent the last seven years of their lives, the place where they'd had several unforgettable adventures together.  
  
Ron and Hermione, with the aid of the Invisibility Cloak, sneaked into a secret room that night. The same one that they had discovered some years ago and shared passion for each other almost every night for the past three years, unbeknownst to Harry.  
  
But Harry wouldn't ever know, not ever. He would never know of Ron and Hermione's secret affection for each other. He would never learn about the sweet romance they whispered into each other's ears while they held each other close to themselves in the dim silvery moonlight. Never.  
  
For Harry Potter was dead. 


	2. Chapter 2

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – I own nothing, nor do I claim to be J.K. Rowling. If I was, would I really be posting my stuff on FanFiction.Net? I didn't think so. All I own is my Dream Street CD, my insane little mind, my love for R/H fics, and Jesse McCartney's leash (although I wouldn't say no to Draco!)  
  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***  
  
Yes, Harry Potter, one-third of the unforgettable trio, was dead. He was seventeen years old and was no longer a scrawny little boy who looked as though he had never heard of a comb. He had gained the respect he deserved from his peers and the admiration he longed for from his long-time love, Cho Chang.  
  
But, over the last three years, the Dark Lord had begun gaining strength, gaining power. He was winning back his old supporters. By Harry's sixteenth birthday, Voldemort had lost patience with his servant and had killed Wormtail. His new assistant was none other than Lucius Malfoy. Lucius was also the one that had completed the task that Wormtail had been unable to for the past decade and a half. Lucius Malfoy killed Harry Potter… right in front of his best friend. Ron had been spared, but many nights had Ron woken up in a cold sweat, trying to erase the memories of the nightmare he'd had only so many times before.  
  
It was around the end of December when Harry died. He and Ron signed up to go home for the holidays; Harry would be staying at Ron's house. One night, a few days after Christmas, Ron and Harry went for a walk through the woods on the other side of Stoatshead Hill around midnight. It was there that Harry and Ron met Lucius Malfoy. It was there that Ron heard the cry of the two fatal words and saw the green light that Harry had been describing to him for many years. Having not seen Ron, Lucius turned and Disapparated, cackling insanely all the while-  
  
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, interrupting Ron's thoughts. "You're awfully quiet."  
  
Ron paused and held her closer. He kissed her forehead.  
  
"Nothing, sweetheart," he said. "Nothing at all."  
  
He knew Hermione didn't believe him, but he didn't care. He loved her, and she loved him, and that was all that mattered… wasn't it? 


	3. Chapter 3

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – I own nothing, nor do I claim to be J.K. Rowling. If I was, would I really be posting my stuff on FanFiction.Net? I didn't think so. All I own is my Dream Street CD, my insane little mind, my love for R/H fics, and Jesse McCartney's leash (although I wouldn't say no to Draco!)  
  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***  
  
It was five years later, sometime in April. Ron and Hermione were getting married.  
  
Hermione stood in front of the full-length mirror in her wedding gown. It was strapless with lace on the hem. She wore elbow-length gloves that matched her dress. She had combed her hair just the way Ron liked it – it drove him crazy when she wore her hair like that.  
  
She studied herself in the mirror as her bridesmaid, none other than her new sister-in-law Ginny Weasley, placed the veil over Hermione's hair.  
  
"Ginny," Hermione murmured.  
  
"Yes?" Ginny replied.  
  
"Should I be doing this?" Hermione wondered out loud. "I'm only twenty- three."  
  
"Don't be stupid," Ginny said as she adjusted the bride's veil. "You two are perfect for each other."  
  
Crookshanks rubbed up against Hermione's leg as if in agreement with Ginny.  
  
"I suppose," Hermione sighed.  
  
***MEANWHILE***  
  
Ron stood nervously at the altar, fidgeting with his cummerbund. His two best men, his brothers Fred and George, were standing sort of off to the side, complaining in whispers about these idiot Muggle tuxedos they were being forced to wear. Ron and Hermione had wanted to have a Muggle wedding, so instead of the fancy robes in wizard weddings, the guests would don Muggle clothing and practice the Muggle wedding traditions.  
  
The guests began filing in, and Ron smiled and waved at them as they entered. He began pacing. Fred and George were hissing at him to calm down.  
  
Just then, the organ began playing the chords of the traditional wedding march and a tiny little girl that Ron recognized to be his five-year-old niece, Rosemary (George and his wife's daughter), walked down the aisle throwing pink rose petals all over the floor. Hermione described this task as being the "flowergirl," but Ron decided that this was so utterly strange and ridiculous it wasn't even worth thinking about.  
  
Then, Hermione, accompanied by her father, entered. She walked down the aisle with her arm linked in her father's. Mr. Granger's eyes were wet with tears, but he held them back. When they reached the end of the aisle, Mr. Granger kissed Hermione on each cheek then sat down next to his wife, who was positively sobbing.  
  
Hermione wove her arm through Ron's and turned toward the minister. She could hear her mother sobbing in the front row behind her. She could see through the corner of her eye Mr. and Mrs. Weasley on the other side, behind Ron. Mr. Weasley was trying to comfort his wife, and Mrs. Weasley was positively bawling.  
  
Hermione pretended to listen to the minister babble on about life and death, she had heard it all before at her parents' friends' weddings, but Ron, who had never heard people talk about this sort of stuff before, was full-on attentionwise. Hermione heard him muttering "Wicked!" under his breath every few seconds.  
  
Hermione saw her bridesmaid out of the corner of her eye. Ginny looked incredibly bored. Fred and George, on the other side of Ron, were fidgeting with their cufflinks.  
  
"If anyone believes these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace," the boring old minister said. The room was silent, apart from Mrs. Weasley's sobs.  
  
"With the power vested in me by the London commonwealth, I now pronounce you man and wife," said the minister. "You may kiss the bride."  
  
Ron turned toward her and slowly lifted her veil. Those bright brown eyes that consoled him whenever he was upset looked up at him. Hermione smiled. Ron threw his arms around her and kissed her. He could faintly hear the audience clapping, but it sounded as if they were in a completely different dimension. When he was with Hermione, nothing else existed except the two of them.  
  
When they ended the kiss that sealed Hermione's new name and their life together, Hermione tossed her bouquet out into the crowd. Ron and Hermione both laughed as Ginny and Rosemary both began furiously playing tug-of-war with it.  
  
"How does it feel to be Mrs. Ron Weasley?" Ron asked his new wife. She looked at him.  
  
"Paradise," she said. She smiled at him, but it quickly faded from her lips. "But, it feels wrong to not have Harry here."  
  
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Ron said. "He's dead. I'm not about to go dig his body up and dress him up in a tuxedo."  
  
"I know," Hermione said. "I just miss him, that's all."  
  
"I do too," Ron replied. "I do too." 


	4. Chapter 4

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – I own nothing, nor do I claim to be J.K. Rowling. If I was, would I really be posting my stuff on FanFiction.Net? I didn't think so. All I own is my Dream Street CD, my insane little mind, my love for R/H fics, and Jesse McCartney's leash (although I wouldn't say no to Draco!)  
  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***  
  
Back at Ron's house, Hermione and Ron sat in their bed. It was about a year after their marriage. Hermione had a job at the Ministry of Magic, and Ron was a Beater on the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team, so they had a rather nice house. It was big, so it felt a slight bit empty with just the two occupants, but Hermione was eight months pregnant with their first child, so it wasn't much longer until they had a third inhabitant.  
  
Hermione was asleep, resting her head on his bare chest, but Ron was wide awake. The nightmares of Harry's death had kept him from sleeping ever since the fateful night. He had tried to talk to Hermione about it, but she didn't understand. She wasn't there. She didn't have to watch him fall to the ground like a sack of wet cement. She didn't have to see her best friend lying there, limp and lifeless…  
  
Ron sighed as he stroked Hermione's brown curly hair. He smiled as he watched her breathe in and out rhythmically. He glanced down at Hermione's stomach. It was covered by a white maternity nightgown, but its shape was obvious through the material. Ron reached down and placed a hand on his wife's belly. He felt his son or daughter kick at him. Hermione shifted a little in her sleep. Ron smiled softly to himself.  
  
He wondered what Harry would have done if he found out that Hermione was pregnant. But then Ron reminded himself that Harry was gone, and he would never know about his child, and that thinking about Harry would only make it hurt more.  
  
He was about to move Hermione back onto her pillow so he could go find something to eat for a midnight snack, but he felt a sharp pain in his head.  
  
Then, suddenly, he was back in the woods at Stoatshead Hill. It was dark, but Ron found that he was able to see anyway. He and Harry walked through the woods. Harry stopped and Ron heard Harry shouting something. Ron felt his head turn and he saw Lucius Malfoy. His hair, as usual was greasy and looked as though he had tried to slick it back similar to the way his son did, but it had been tousled and scattered during his trek through the woods and was disheveled. His robes were torn and ripped in various places. Ron felt himself duck behind a tree and poke his head around the side of the trunk.  
  
Lucius and Harry both pulled out their wands. Harry tried desperately to defend himself as he told Ron to get himself out. But Lucius dodged Harry's curse and shouted 'Avada Kedavra!' Harry screamed and collapsed as the green light touched his body. Ron screamed, "NO!"  
  
"Wha-? What happened?" Hermione mumbled as she sat up. She looked concernedly at Ron, who was shaking and sweating. His eyes were clamped shut, but he was tossing and turning as if he were living a dream – or, the case being, a nightmare. She touched his trembling hand.  
  
"He… and I… and then… but…" Ron rambled. He was breathing hard. Hermione sighed. No doubt he was having another one of his flashbacks.  
  
"Its all right, honey," she said soothingly. "I'm here, you're all right." But Ron couldn't hear her. He was still back in the forest, with Harry and Lucius.  
  
Ron tried to go over to Harry, but Lucius was still there. Ron knew that if Lucius saw him, then Ron was as good as dead. He watched Harry's murderer laugh insanely and do a little jig.  
  
"Master will be so pleased," Lucius murmured as he Disapparated.  
  
Ron darted out from behind the tree and went over to Harry's body. Harry's hair was slightly parted in the front and Ron could see his scar. It was flickering a blackish color. Ron felt a tear trickle down his cheek as he tried to lift Harry's limp body. But then he remembered he was a wizard, and he didn't have to use strength to lift his friend.  
  
"Wingardium Leviosa," Hermione heard Ron say out loud.  
  
Back in Ron's little world, Harry levitated about three feet off the ground and Ron slowly dragged Harry's body back to the Burrow through the snow.  
  
Ron's eyes shot open. He was trembling. This was the clearest he had seen the flashback ever. Most times it was just a little clip of it, they usually didn't last very long. But this one…  
  
"Hermione," Ron mumbled. He hugged her close. "It was awful."  
  
Hermione nodded and hugged him back. She didn't know what he was going through, she didn't know what kind of pain he experienced, but she tried to be understanding and compassionate.  
  
"What happened?" she asked.  
  
He described to her everything he had seen. She nodded.  
  
"Hrm," she murmured. "Some of that sounds pretty new…" Ron could only nod.  
  
Hermione snuggled closer to him, as if to comfort him. "Its all right," she said. "The worst has come."  
  
"I suppose you're right," Ron agreed. He looked down at her. She was rubbing her stomach where the baby kicked the most. They were silent for a moment.  
  
"He's pretty active," Hermione said.  
  
"How do you know it's a boy?" Ron chuckled. "It could be a girl."  
  
"Or it could be a goat," Hermione laughed.  
  
"He gets it from your side of the family," Ron teased. Hermione pretended to be offended. Ron put his hand on top of Hermione's.  
  
"I miss Harry," she said.  
  
"I do too," Ron said. He brushed her cheek with his other hand.  
  
"I wish there was some way we could bring him back, Ron," Hermione whispered.  
  
"You're the clever little genius, you figure something out," Ron said, reminiscing from his school days when Hermione was the brilliant student. Suddenly, Hermione got an idea.  
  
"I have an idea," she said.  
  
"Tell me," Ron replied.  
  
"No, you'll just have to wait till tomorrow morning." Hermione grinned at him, planted a kiss on the end of his nose, then rolled over and went to sleep. Ron sighed happily. The thoughts of Harry's death were completely out of his mind as he watched Hermione sleep. Then he drifted off into slumber himself. 


	5. Chapter 5

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – I own nothing, nor do I claim to be J.K. Rowling. If I was, would I really be posting my stuff on FanFiction.Net? I didn't think so. All I own is my Dream Street CD, my insane little mind, my love for R/H fics, and Jesse McCartney's leash (although I wouldn't say no to Draco!) Also, I own the idea of Kappa Crunchies and the broomstick line called Windsurfer. (You'll see in this chapter.) Kyree owns Silver Sprinter.  
  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***  
  
Ron woke up the next morning and changed into his orange Chudley Cannons robes. He went into the kitchen to make some breakfast.  
  
Hermione was already in there, sipping coffee while she scanned the Daily Prophet.  
  
"So," Ron said. Hermione looked up at him. He leaned in and kissed her. "What was your brilliant idea?"  
  
"Oh, that," Hermione said. She turned back to the Prophet. "I just said that to shut you up." She grinned and took another sip of her coffee. Ron rolled his eyes and poured himself some Kappa Crunchies. (A/N: Whaaat, I couldn't think of anything else to call the cereal!)  
  
As he munched his cereal, he watched Hermione read her newspaper from across the table. Her brown eyes flickered across the page. Her hair was up in a loose ponytail, but one curl had worked itself loose and was dangling behind her ear.  
  
Ron finished his cereal and put his bowl in the sink.  
  
"I'm off to work, 'Mione," Ron said. He kissed her then Disapparated.  
  
He appeared a split second later in the locker room at the Chudley Cannons Quidditch stadium. He opened his locker and pulled out his broomstick: his trusty Windsurfer 260. Sure, there were better brooms, like the state-of- the-art Silver Sprinter (A/N: Thankies, Kyree!), but Ron didn't need a fast broom. He was a Beater. Beaters just whacked Bludgers around. They didn't have to pull into dives at breakneck speed in a split second's time. Which is why Ron liked his Windsurfer 260 so much.  
  
The other Beater, a witch named Shannon Prescott, walked up to him and clapped him on the shoulder.  
  
"You ready?" she said. "The game is about to start."  
  
Ron nodded. He grabbed his club and followed Shannon into the tunnel.  
  
The trumpets blared as Ron mounted his broom. The doors swung open and both teams took the field.  
  
The Cannons would be playing the Wimbourne Wasps today. Ron hovered above the middle of the field next to Shannon as he tried to recall the Wasps' playing strategy. He remembered just before the referee blew the starting whistle that the Wasps' current Keeper was their weak spot. Knock out their Keeper and you've got them eating out of your hands.  
  
Ron ducked as one of the Wasp Chasers flew six inches over his head. A Bludger was hurtling toward him, so he instinctively got ready to hit it with his club. There was a satisfying CRACK as metal hit metal, and a pleasing THUNK as the Bludger hit the Wasp Keeper and she fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
"Ha!" Ron muttered to himself.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Ron did a victory lap around the field and slapped Shannon a high-five as the Cannon Seeker, Henry, caught the Snitch and ended the game, 60 to 190.  
  
***  
  
When Ron arrived at home that evening, Hermione greeted him with a kiss.  
  
"I missed you," she said, smiling warmly at him.  
  
"I missed you too," he said. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"  
  
"Well, you made front page," she said. She held up the Evening Prophet. There was a picture of Henry catching the Snitch, with Ron in the background holding his arms up in triumph. The Ron in the picture went over to Henry and slapped him on the back, congratulating him. Hermione noted that today's win would put the Cannons in 4th place in their league.  
  
"All right!" Ron cheered. He gave her a kiss to celebrate. She returned it, smiling, but then her features turned to a frown.  
  
"Look what else was in the paper," she said, turning the page.  
  
"Oh my God," Ron gasped as he read the headline.  
  
Hermione nodded.  
  
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened again."  
  
A/N: Dun dun dunnnnn! Cliffie! ... Erm, not really. O.ô 


	6. Chapter 6

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – I don't own anything except for my Dream Street CD (*huggles CD*), a box of tissues (*stares lovingly at the tissues and sniffles*), my love for R/Hr fics, Jesse McCartney's leash, and anything and everything that exists within the boundaries of my twisted imagination. And I am not J.K. Rowling! ...or am I?  
  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***  
  
Hermione cleared her throat as she read the article.  
  
"The Chamber of Secrets, once a topic of myth at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has been opened for the third time. The first time was just over sixty years ago, when one girl died. The second was only about ten years ago, fortunately, no one was injured. Luckily for the students of Hogwarts, Headmaster Dumbledore assures everyone that there is no 'monster' roaming the Chamber, nor is the Heir of Slytherin walking about the castle. Ministry officials, however, are still suspicious and the Chamber is being heavily guarded, as there is a chance that the Heir of Slytherin may 'come back,' as they stated it. More information on pages six through eight."  
  
Ron stared at the kitchen table, trying to take all this information in. He was very concerned about the Chamber of Secrets being opened once more. He remembered, in his second year at Hogwarts, when he and Harry went down into the Chamber, and Harry fought bravely against Tom Riddle and the Basilisk, while Ron sat outside and tended to the amnesiac Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Hermione, however, was very excited about the news.  
  
"Ron, don't you see?" she exclaimed. "They think the Heir of Slytherin might come back. Since Tom Riddle is dead, someone would have to resurrect him."  
  
Ron looked at her. "If you're trying to get me to come with you and reincarnate Tom Riddle, you're cr-"  
  
"We wouldn't resurrect Riddle, Ron," she interrupted impatiently. Ron looked at her blankly. "Harry," she said. "We would bring Harry back, Ron."  
  
Ron looked at her as though Christmas had come early.  
  
"That's brilliant, 'Mione!" he shouted as he danced around the kitchen. "Simply ingenious!" Hermione grinned and blushed, trying to be modest. Ron was still grinning ear-to-ear when a thought struck him. "But, 'Mione, how are we going to do that?"  
  
"I'm still working that part out..."  
  
Ron and Hermione laughed and celebrated for the rest of the day. Harry was coming back!  
  
A/N: I lurv Jesse McCartney... Oh yeah, and if you haven't figured out by now, sometimes I rewrite the Disclaimer and it includes funny little notes, so read the Disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter, they're pretty funny...! 


	7. Chapter 7

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – Obviously, I don't own anything, I just jacked some of the characters and concepts from J.K. Rowling. But its sort of obvious since Ron and Hermione are so damn OOC! Oh yeah, and sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've been having writer's block, and also I've been working on my Dream Street fics. And yes I'm trying to make excuses so just shut up and read the stupid chapter that I have so graciously presented you with!

  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***

A few weeks later, Ron was out in the backyard, practicing his Quidditch skills on some apples when he heard Hermione cry out in pain. He rushed inside.

"'Mione? You okay? Where are you?" he cried. She was on the couch, trying to stand up, and clutching her stomach.

"Ron, my water just broke!"

All the blood drained out of Ron's face.

"Okay, take my hand," he said. He Disapparated, taking Hermione with him, to the nearest wizard hospital.

"WE'RE HAVING A BABY!" Ron screamed. One of the nearby mediwizards grabbed a wheelchair, shoved Hermione in it, and wheeled her off to the nearest birthing suite, too fast for Ron to follow. He had to sit in the lobby and wait for six hours.

He began pacing back and forth until Hermione emerged from the birthing suite, about twelve sizes thinner around the middle and holding a tiny baby in her arms.

"It's a girl," she said. She gave their child to Ron, who looked at the infant with such love in his eyes that Hermione found it difficult to not cry.

The child had red hair like Ron's, with brown eyes that exactly matched her mother's. The tiny child looked up at her father and waved her hands as if to say hello. She made a small noise.

"What will we name her?" Ron asked, not taking his eyes off his daughter.

"I haven't thought that far yet," Hermione replied.

They thought for a few moments.

"Maybe Ellen?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Rachel?

Ron refused.

"April?"

"Perfect," Ron agreed.

And thus, April Virginia Weasley joined the Weasley family that day.

A/N: Aww! Isn't it SWEET?


	8. Chapter 8

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – I don't own Harry Potter or his world. God knows I'd like to, but if I did, everything would revolve around Dream Street and – just leave me alone and read the stupid chapter!

  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***

Hermione and Ron sat on the couch, silently watching their now-three-week-old daughter, April, play with a toy wand on the living room floor. They still hadn't come up with a way to get into the Chamber of Secrets without getting caught, and they had been spending the last few weeks watching their daughter and pondering ways to get into the Chamber.

"She's so beautiful," Ron murmured. Hermione laughed a little. There was another pause, then –

"Ron! I'm brilliant!" Hermione cried, jumping up.

"Well, we already knew that," Ron said. "Why now?"

"I know how we could get into the Chamber of Secrets!" She got up and ran into the bedroom to grab her wand, a roll of parchment and a quill. "Grab April, we're going to Hogwarts!"

Ron, still sort of unclear of what was going on, got up off the couch, picked up his daughter and Apparated with his wife to their old school.

"Still looks the same," Hermione mused, glancing around at the familiar stone walls. Ron nodded in agreement and shifted April to his other hip.

"So, what is your brilliant plan?" Ron asked.

"Watch and see."

They wove through the corridors, finding that they still knew their way surprisingly well.

Eventually, they found the girls bathroom, where Ron and Harry had dragged Lockhart in and Harry had faced Tom Riddle – Lord Voldemort's alias – to save Ron's sister, Ginny. (A/N: Yes, April's middle name is Virginia after Ron's sister.)

As they expected, there was a Ministry official guarding the bathroom.

"Act like you own the place," Hermione whispered to Ron.

"Halt," commanded the guard as Ron and Hermione walked up. " I have orders not to let anyone in here."

"I'm for the Daily Prophet," Hermione said, holding up her roll of parchment and her quill. "I'm doing a story on the Chamber, and I was thinking a little hands-on experience might spice it up a little." It wasn't really lying – she _did_ work for the Ministry, after all.

The guard shook his head.

"No. It's too dangerous."

Ron sighed.

"Look, pal, do you know who I am?" he said, stepping up to the guard. He was about three or four inches taller than the guard, so Ron towered over him intimidatingly. (A/N: Cool, I made a new word!) "Not only am I Ronald Weasley, the Chudley Cannons Beater, but-" He paused and added on sudden inspiration, "-I also happen to be very good friends with the Minister of Magic!"

"Y-yes, sir, Mr. Weasley, sir, go on ahead, sir, sorry about all that, didn't realize who you were." He stepped aside to let them advance.

"Okay, so we're in," Hermione said. She set the parchment and quill down on the ground. "Let's go!"

"Hermione, there's just one problem," Ron pointed out. He jabbed one finger at the tiny snake carving on the faucet of the sink. "Neither of us speak Parseltongue."

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but paused. She frowned, studying the tiny engraving.

"Good point."

"So what are we-"

"But luckily," Hermione interrupted. "I know this certain…" She paused, fingering her wand as she decided how to best phrase what she was going to say next. "A certain spell that can… enable you to open the Chamber."

"Without Parseltongue?"

"I never said that." Ron looked confused, so Hermione gently explained what the spell did. "What this spell does, is it takes you back to the last time you saw a certain person, and you take one of their talents." Ron nodded. "But the thing is," she continued, "you would have to go back to the night Harry died."


	9. Chapter 9

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – Its mine, all mine! Worship me like the goddess J.K. Rowling claims to be, bow down to me, pay me the respects I deserve! I taught Hermione everything she knows (and we all know that that's a lot)! I'm the genius behind the magic (*gets pelted with tomatoes for bad pun*)! Not really, but a girl can dream.

  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***

Ron gulped. He would have to go back to that terrible night – the worst night of his life – but now he would _really_ have to relive it. But, it was worth it to bring Harry back.

"All right, I'm ready," Ron said, drawing a deep, determined breath. Hermione took April from him, then she lifted her wand. The last thing he saw as Hermione muttered the incantation was Moaning Myrtle peering at him from over the top of one of the stalls. Then there was a whirl of black and white, and a strange whooshing sound, and he was back at the Burrow.

Ron looked down at himself. He was in his seventeen-year-old body, which was sitting on the edge of his bed. He recognized the room to be his old bedroom.

Harry was on the other side of the room, putting on his shoes. He was motioning for Ron to hurry up. Ron hurriedly tied his shoes, and while doing so, realized that he had to control his own muscles, unlike in the flashbacks where the memory would guide him itself. Taking this into consideration, he figured that he could probably prevent Harry's death altogether. But knowing Hermione and her odd way of choosing nitpicky spells, the spell probably wouldn't work – or worse, he would be stuck - if he did anything too different.

The cool night air felt good on Ron's face as they walked across Stoatshead Hill. Their sneakers made a soft _crunch crunch_ sound in the snow.

Harry was babbling about something, but Ron wasn't listening. He was too busy worrying about whether or not he could get behind the tree again in time to save his own life, since saving Harry's was out of the question.

As they entered the forest, Ron saw Lucius Malfoy's face again. Once more, he heard Harry cry out for him to get away, and he saw the green light that drained Harry's body of its life. For the third time in his life, Ron saw his lifelong companion fall to the ground, lifeless. (A/N: I just used the word "life" four times in the last sentence-and-a-half. O.o) He waited for Lucius to disappear, then he kneeled beside Harry's body, unsure of what to do next.

Then he heard a voice. It was barely above a whisper, hardly audible. He turned around to face the speaker, but no one was there. Ron was confused. He didn't remember this part. He held his breath and stayed totally still, hoping to make out where the whispers were coming from.

He realized that it was Hermione's voice. She was calling to him from the bathroom back at Hogwarts.

"Touch his scar, Ron. Touch his scar."

Ron lifted a shaky hand and placed it on Harry's cold forehead. A bright green light flowed from Harry's lightning scar and into Ron's fingertips on contact. Then the scar disappeared altogether.

Then Ron found himself back inside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He was breathing heavily and felt sort of faint.

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione cried, sounding distraught. She threw herself toward him and flung her arms around his neck. Ron hugged her close, out of force of habit. "You were just standing there, like a zombie, and you were twitching, and-"

"I'm fine," Ron whispered. "I'm okay now." He released Hermione from his grip. "And if all went well, I can speak Parseltongue now."

"It only lasts an hour," Hermione told him. She picked April up. "So we'd better go now."

Ron nodded and turned toward the sink. He couldn't help thinking that Myrtle was being awfully quiet, but he decided that was a good thing.

He focused his whole mind on the tiny snake. _Concentrate on the snake,_ he told himself. He took a deep breath.

"Open up."

That's what it sounded like to him, but Hermione heard a series of spitting and hissing issue from Ron's mouth. She looked a little startled, maybe even alarmed, but immediately calmed down when she realized that was what Parseltongue sounded like.

Ron watched in awe as the carving wriggled to life once more and the wall behind the sink opened.

"You did it!" Hermione squealed.

He _had_ done it. He had opened the Chamber of Secrets.


	10. Chapter 10

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – It's all, sadly, J.K. Rowling's. I would do so many things, such things I would do, if only it were all mine…

  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***

"Let's go!" Hermione said, stepping forward into the crevice.

"Hold on," Ron said. "What about April?"

"Harry killed the basilisk, don't you remember? She'll be fine," she reassured him. "There aren't any more monsters."

Ron couldn't help feeling that Hermione was wrong, but he let Hermione take their daughter with them.

"But I'm going first. Don't come down until I give the signal. If its too dangerous, then I want you to conjure some sort of playpen thingy and have Moaning Myrtle to watch April," Ron instructed. Hermione quickly agreed.

"Okay, remember, wait till I give the signal," Ron said as he clambered through the hole. He heard April gurgle, then he slid down into the blackness.

He found himself in the familiar area, where Lockhart had tried to blast them with a Memory Charm, but had hit himself instead.

Ron noticed, as he glanced around for possible dangers, that the damages had been repaired. The room looked totally intact.

"Okay, come on down," Ron called. "It looks s-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Hermione appeared – alone – behind him.

"Where's April?"

"I left her with Myrtle anyway. She was begging to let me take care of her, complaining how her parents never let her babysit when she was a child, so I let her watch April. Y'know, just to shut her up."

Ron chuckled. Then he and Hermione both lit their wands ("Lumos!") and advanced across the room. They entered through a large white door, but the room was empty.

"C'mon, Hermione, let's go, this one's empty," Ron sighed, turning around to explore the next room.

"No no no, look, Ron," Hermione said. She pointed with her wand at an object in the middle of the room.

She and Ron moved toward the object. As their wandlight fell upon it, Ron noticed more details. It was white, about three feet high, looked like it was made of marble, and resembled a Muggle birdbath (although Ron had no idea what a birdbath was).

"I've read about these," Hermione gasped.

__

What hasn't she read about? Ron asked himself.

"Its called a Life Breather. You light a fire in the center, and tell it things about a dead person and its supposed to bring people back to life. The catch is, it only works on uneasy souls. People who had unfinished business before they died. Harry probably is 'uneasy,' because he never killed You-Know-Who."

"Okay," Ron said, rubbing his hands together gleefully. "What do we do first?"

"Light a fire, genius."

Hermione strode forward and pointed her wand at the center of the Life Breather.

"Incendio!" (A/N: At least, I _think_ that's the fire spell!)

A bright blue flame erupted from the center of the bowl. Hermione leapt back just in time to avoid getting singed.

"Okay, now what?"

"Now we tell the Life Breather some things about Harry, so it knows who to resurrect. It knows no names, so you can't just say, 'Bring back Harry Potter'," she added, accurately predicting what Ron was going to say next. "So… would you like to start?"

"Urm… all right." He stepped up to the Life Breather and muttered, "He always tried to succeed at what he did."

"He had few friends, but the ones he had loved him dearly," Hermione added.

"He was sort of quiet at times."

"His death was the work of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Ron was about to add something else when the Life Breather began to shake violently. A dark figure arose, hidden behind a shroud of cloudy smoke that had risen from the Life Breather.

As the smoke cleared, the figure began to materialize. As the person's form solidified, they realized who it was that had risen from the ashes.

They both gasped incredulously, "_Peter Pettigrew_?"


	11. Chapter 11

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Grace the Amazing Cracker  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – You should know by the eleventh chapter that I don't own anything except my Dream Street merchandise, some paper and a crappy mechanical pencil. Oh, and the idea of Life Breathers. If you wanna use those in your fic (not that anyone will), go for it. You dun have to give me any credit, but just don't say _you_ thought it up. And just leave a review saying you're using it because I'd like to know who's using my stuffishness. Oh yeah, and I know Dumbledore said there's no way someone can bring back the dead, but Life Breathers, as you're gonna find out in a moment, don't bring back the dead. They just make them alive until they can settle themselves (you'll see), then they die again.

  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***

"Yes," said the figure, straightening up. "It is I. Wormtail."

Hermione gasped.

"B-but… how… we asked for…" she stammered.

"Ah, yes," Wormtail muttered. Death certainly had changed his personality, or perhaps it had simply changed naturally over time. Nevertheless, he was different, no longer the stammering idiot he was before. "The clues you gave to the Life Breather." He gestured behind himself at the strange creation. "Perhaps they were too vague. They matched me as well as whoever-"

"Harry," blurted Ron. "We were trying to bring back Harry."

"Harry." Wormtail spat out the name like one would spit out something distasteful. "Yes… He and I were a lot a like. We had few friends, few but loyal… as you pointed out to the Life Breather." He peered around at the odd little birdbath thing. "And both of our demises were brought on by my master." He stopped, looking as though he wanted to kill himself. "My old master," he corrected himself. "I remember it like it was yesterday… I had just come back to the Riddle House to report to him…"

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"I'm here, My Lord," he mumbled.

"Good, Wormtail. I've been getting impatient. Now what information have you brought me? It had better be good if it took you that long."

Wormtail gritted his teeth. Why don't you get off your lazy butt and get it yourself, you bum, see how long it takes you, he thought, but he didn't say anything.

"Well, your Lordship, I know of a witch in Surrey, her name is Arabella Figg, she knows-"

"Wormtail, you blundering idiot! You incompetent fool!" Lord Voldemort cried in his raspy voice. "I asked for information on the boy, the one our whole operation has been based on the past decade and a half!" He rose from his chair. He stood shakily, as though he hadn't used his legs in years, which, Wormtail reminded himself, he probably hadn't.

"I-I'm sorry, My Lord," he stammered.

"No, Wormtail, you have failed me too many times. You are not fit to be my servant. You cannot do something as simple as telling me where the Potter boy might be!"

"But, Master, I-"

"Silence!" He whirled around to face the quivering man. Voldemort pointed his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"

Wormtail collapsed in a lifeless heap on the floor. He had died before he could tell Voldemort that the witch, Arabella Figg, was caring for the boy at that very moment.

Hermione and Ron stared at Wormtail, stunned. Wormtail stared at the wall, hating Voldemort.

Suddenly, Wormtail snatched Ron's wand – since his own had been removed from his body when he died – and uttered an incantation under his breath. He made a sort of twirling motion with the wand, and Lord Voldemort materialized right before their eyes.

"What?" spat Voldemort. "What am I doing here?"

"You're here," began Wormtail, regarding Voldemort coldly. He spoke not as a servant would to his master, but rather the other way around, "because I wish to seek my revenge upon you for my death."

"Wha-at?" Voldemort stammered. His eyes flickered from Wormtail to the Life Breather and back to Wormtail. "Wormtail, don't be a fool-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Wormtail cried. The green light Ron wished he would never have to see again issued from the wand, finally ending the life that had ended many others. Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew, had killed Voldemort.

Wormtail stared at Voldemort's limp body with a look of intense disgust on his face. He kicked the body and spat on it.

"That's all I needed to do," Wormtail said to Ron, handing him back his wand. "I'm going now."

__

That's right, Ron realized. _Uneasy souls obviously die again once they have settled themselves…_

Hermione and Ron watched Wormtail slowly fade away until he had vanished completely.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ron muttered. This would be the second body Ron would have to levitate in his life – he considered one to be too many. He and Hermione went back up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, still carrying Voldemort's body.

"Harry didn't even get to kill Voldemort," Hermione whimpered between sobs. She was totally upset after the experience.

"I know," Ron whispered consolingly.

They showed Voldemort's body to the guard outside of the Chamber, who shrieked and ran off to fetch the Headmaster. Hermione disappeared back inside to get April, and was still trying to pry her away from Myrtle when the guard reappeared with Dumbledore.

"Well done, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said, looking at Ron with admiration. "Normally, I would award, oh, say, ten thousand points to Gryffindor, but the circumstances involving the fact that you don't attend-"

"Wait, sir," Ron said. "I didn't kill You-Know-Who." He gulped. "Peter Pettigrew did."

"He did, did he?" repeated Dumbledore. "May I inquire as to how?"

"We resurrected him when we meant to bring Harry back instead. A-and Peter was seeking revenge on him…" Ron told him the story, including Wormtail's narrative of the night he died. "But, sir, why did Peter Pettigrew come back instead of Harry?"

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, there are many answers to that question, some of them are unexplainable. I think, however, the most likely reason is that Harry's soul was, indeed, at ease, and therefore one could not bring him back using a Life Breather."

Ron cocked his head slightly, confused.

"Perhaps Harry was not completely obsessed with avenging his parents, Ronald," Dumbledore explained. "Thus, his soul was not restless."

Ron nodded to show he understood. Professor Dumbledore smiled.

Just then, Hermione appeared. She was short of breath and had just barely managed to tear her daughter from Moaning Myrtle's clutches, which was difficult, even if Myrtle was a ghost.

"Oh, hello, Professor Dumbledore, sir," she breathed.

"Greetings, Miss Granger," he said. "Or, should I say, Mrs. Weasley." He winked at Ron. "Ronald has already informed me of what happened in the Chamber. He insists that neither he nor you are responsible for Voldemort's" – Ron flinched – "death, however, I do believe that some sort of reward is necessary."

"W-what do you mean, sir?" asked Hermione.

Dumbledore looked at the guard, who reached inside his robes and pulled out a large, thick book. He handed it to Dumbledore, who handed it to Ron. (A/N: Why didn't I just have the guard hand it to Ron? *shakes head* I am a loser.) The cover was fashioned in red velvet, and the title, spun in smooth gold scrawl (A/N: I just realized that those are the Gryffindor colors… cool… I didn't even try to do that, it just kind of happened…), read, _Fond Memories of Our Fond Friend, Harry Potter_. Inside was page after page of pictures of Harry. Most were smiling and waving, but one wasn't moving at all (it was one of his pictures from his Muggle elementary school – Hermione giggled when she pointed out that he was missing his two front teeth), and Colin Creevey's picture of Harry and Gilderoy Lockhart together.

Ron was speechless as he flipped through the pages. Hermione looked up at Dumbledore, her eyes filled with tears. She flung herself on him, hugging him as she had done to Ron earlier. Dumbledore looked slightly surprised, but he hugged her back.

"Thank you, sir," she whispered when she finally released him.

Dumbledore only smiled and nodded.

Hermione collected April, then the three of them Disapparated.

When they were gone, Dumbledore turned and went back to his office to notify the Minister of Magic. The world was rid of Lord Voldemort at last.

**__**

*~ THE END ~*

Thankies to… all my reviewers: Kyree, Lady Norbert, Iris, Beankid88, 'u r a feakyo', Addrielinis daughter of Elrond sister of the Undomiel (Jess, your brother isn't a bag of wet cement, he just falls like one), Laura-Grace, Albus Dumbledore, Krum-Luver, JennyT, Adnap Nottap, Ronmi, Hermione, Samantha543, Fate, Mystique Meowth, I'm a BLONDE so read it, Toast, 'andysgf@hotmail.com', purplerain, mandy weasley, Jesse's-girl, Sara, Urien second heir to the steward of Gondor (Jake, R/Hr ROCKS DA WORLD! So there.) and anyone else who has read this and rudely insisted on not reviewing!

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Thankies to… Kyree, my beta-reader!

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Thankies to… J.K. Rowling, for letting me mutilate her characters.

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Thankies to… Urm, me, I guess.

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Remember to review!

If you didn't like it, remember this:

I didn't pay you to read it

I didn't bribe you to read it

I didn't use the Imperius Curse to make you read it

So don't flame me for wasting your time.


	12. Epilogue

Title – Harry Potter: Return to the Chamber  
  
Author – Jesse's Peanut Butter Princess  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Genre – Romance  
  
Disclaimer – Its mine,_ all mine_! Bwahaha! Taste my wrath, sweatermonkeys! Don't mind me, I'm in a weird mood. But anyway, of course I own Harry Potter! It was all my idea! J.K. Rowling just jacked my brilliance and got paid eight million + dollars for it. FINE, JUST SHATTER MY DREAMS, WHY DON'T YA! *sob*  
  
Summary – It's Ron and Hermione's wedding day. The day they've been waiting for all their lives. Yet, something is missing…  
  
***

EPILOGUE

Ron and Hermione lived happily ever after with their daughter April, who grew up to follow in her father's footsteps. They did continue to grieve for Harry, but eventually stopped living in misery, knowing that Harry wouldn't want them to spend their lives obsessing over his death.

Dumbledore informed the Ministry that Voldemort had been killed, and Cornelius Fudge awarded Ron and his family a reward of several hundred thousand Galleons for the return of the Dark Lord's body. The Weasleys, however, already had plenty of money and didn't need anymore, so Ron and Hermione dedicated the money to making a monument in the honor and memory of Harry Potter – The Boy Who Lived.

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--JPBP

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((And thankies once again to all my reviewers! *tear* I LOVE YOU GUYS! GROUP HUG! *squeezes all her reviewers to near death in a humongous hug*))


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